Prelude to Healing
by Danyu
Summary: Haru/Rin. The curse is broken and she has never been so frightened. ONESHOT.


**Prelude to Healing**

By Dan'yu

_Notes: I heard the series was ending, and since I haven't gotten there yet, I made up a little ditty myself. Not canon._

That afternoon, the fragile veil of spring warmth was ripped away by a sudden thunderstorm, the rain pounding down to the earth in heavy, unyielding torrents. He could hear it echoing off the tin roofing above his head, could see the hazy mist of the perspiration fogging up his bedroom window.

He threw his bag to the floor, not carrying of its destination, sighing softly as he removed the jewelry around his wrists and neck and fingers, loosening the buttons to his uniform shirt as for a long, drawn out moment, all he could hear was the sound of the rain and all he could feel was the slight shock of the cold air against his naked skin as he shed the garment, intent on a shower.

It hit him as suddenly as the storm itself had come, but instead, the chaos of this was directed inward, ripping, tormenting, painful, rendering him with an unbalanced feeling as if he was teetering on the edge of a never-ending abyss. That abyss he knew was now what resided inside of him, as an empty, cavernous feeling filled his soul and his eyes misted over with unchecked tears.

He didn't think, made no attempt at logic or rationality as he half-stumbled out of the room, racing down the hallway, his feet pounding erratically against the hardwood floors. The moment the noise was muffled by the ornate rug in the living room, the startled face of his mother was only a blur as she looked up from her book just in time to see him running through the door, sans shoes and a shirt.

"Haru! Haru, what on earth are you doing?"

He paid her no mind as he continued his mindless race, and his mother reacted instantly, rushing down the hall toward her husband's study, not bothering with her habitual rap against the heavy oaken door as she flew into the room, breathless as she struggled to convey to her spouse their son's actions.

"There's something wrong with Hatsuharu. He just took off into the rain. We have to go after him."

The man glanced up from his paperwork, cocking an eyebrow in bewilderment. "Dear, the boy's always been a little strange. How is now any different?"

His normally sweet and demure wife scowled at him and reached across his desk to latch on to his tie, and jerk him to his feet, dragging him with her as she set a determined pace toward the front door, grabbing an umbrella on the way.

"Takehiro, he is your son! And something's wrong, I can feel it. Now, come on. He took off toward Kazuma-san's dojo."

xx

Rin was (rather reluctantly) having tea with Kagura and her parents, come to visit her for the first time since her transplantation to Kazuma's residence, when she first felt the strange, inexplicable feeling. It was like being torn apart from the inside out, something being forcefully ripped away from the very core of her, and a vast emptiness filled the void, an excruciating longing she couldn't quite place.

Her first thoughts were of him, of soft gray eyes and unruly white hair, of strong arms that held her tight and a sweetly handsome face she knew far better than her own. _Haru…where are you…what's happened to you?_

_Where are you?_

She was brought away from her reflections to the shattering sounds of a ceramic teacup hitting the table, and she took in the sight of Kagura gone an ashen-gray, the cup having fallen from her trembling hands, wide brown eyes tear-streaked and frightened as they met hers.

It took only a second to realize she was Kagura was not the only one shaking and crying, and she knew one thing they probably shared.

_What it felt to suddenly feel so utterly alone inside…_

Kagura's mother and father were full of parental concern, hovering over their daughter as she broke down into sobs and clung to her father. Rin saw a blurred version of their twin shocked expressions as the man awkwardly raised his arms and embraced his daughter freely for the first time, but she blinked away the tears obscuring her vision, could only think of one destination as she shakily rose to her feet and started toward the door.

"Isuzu-chan! Where are you going?"

Rin ignored the sound of the voice behind her, rushing her way down the hall, oblivious to the way her bare feet occasionally slid against the floor, and when the folds of her yukata (something Kazuma insisted she relax in as she slowly recovered) got in her way, she only tied the fabric in a knot at her knee and kept on running.

She crashed her way out of the house, paying no mind to the muffled voices just behind her or the way her feet sank into the dirt rapidly made into mud, or the rain pelting down on her, soaking her to the bone.

She noticed him a moment later, tearing his way through the rain, equally as unclothed if not more so than her. His hair was soaked and plastered against his skull, his pants clinging as close as a second skin to long, strong legs, and water ran down in rivulets from his naked alabaster skin, smooth and flawless and shimmering with dampness over the powerful definition of his musculature.

He was beautiful. So, so beautiful.

Their eyes met for just a moment, the opaque gray of his, their stormy intensity equal to the angry thunderclouds hovering menacingly in the skies above them, flickering with instant recognition and love, and it was all she needed as she flew into his embrace. His arms were strong and reassuring in their familiarity, and she clung to him, took in the many sensations at once, the real, tangible evidence of him pressed so tightly against her, that he was here and real.

xx

The couple had since gathered an audience, incredulously captivated by what they were witnessing. Kagura was quiet and subdued, cuddled between her parents as the two stood in the entranceway.

Two former Jyuunishi entwined together so tightly and thoroughly, as if trying to mold themselves into one person. Their ward and the boy they had both watched grow into a man, together with this intimacy that had been one of the most ultimate forbiddances in their lives.

Hatsuharu's mouth met Isuzu's, softly and chastely, once, twice, and then they seemed to collide together. His hands roughly grasped her hips as he lifted her to him, her legs wrapping tightly around his waist. Drenched by the rain, feet and ankles caked by mud, neither paid any mind to outside discomfort as they came together again in another kiss.

"Makoto, Akane."

The couple turned in unison to face Hatsuharu's parents, the new arrivals impeccably put together as usual. Takehiro was looking uncomfortable, skittish, despite the way his wife, Yumi, had a firm hold on his arm, as if to keep him from fleeing. Seeing the young woman freely clinging to her father, Yumi's eyes misted over with tears. "Is it…? Are they finally…?"

Akane nodded, still quietly crying on her own. "They're free, dear. They're free."

"And some of them are expressing it differently than others," Makoto said dryly, unable to help himself. As a result, all eyes swung to the display in the yard.

Takehiro cleared his throat, shifting uncomfortably, while Yumi stared on with wide eyes, pressing a hand to her mouth.

"Oh, my."

The teenagers kissed with a fierce hunger, as if to devour each other, body and heart and soul, anything to just _feel _the other once again. Neither of their hands were idle, his warming the goose-pimpled flesh of her bare legs, eager to feel her as they slipped up the folds of her yukata to caress the silken skin of her thighs.

The love, the passion was a palpable thing in the air, causing cheeks to flush but eyes unable to turn away. Kagura watched this all happen through hooded eyes, resting her head against her father's chest. "Sometimes part of being a Jyuunishi was to take intimacy where we could. That's part of why I pursued Kyou-kun for so long. But…it's always been different for Haru-chan and Isuzu."

Though she chose not to look directly at any of the adults, it was Yumi who spoke directly to her. "It's not comfort, or infatuation, is it? They're in love. Deep love. Real love."

Kagura nodded, smiling softly, nostalgically, "They've loved each other as long as I can remember. It's always been that way. And I have faith now…that it always will be."

Makoto pressed a kiss to Kagura's forehead, and Akane curved her arms around her daughter as her husband enveloped both women in his embrace.

In an uncharacteristic display of affection, Takehiro reached down to grasp his wife's hand, staring at his son and his lover in awe. "When did it happen?" he whispered softly, so quiet Yumi had to fight to hear him.

She looked up at him quizzically. "Nani?"

He pointed to the kissing couple. "When did he become a man?" he elaborated, "A free man, now."

Her eyes widening but nodding her agreement, Yumi leaned into her husband as he wrapped an arm around her waist, quiet and thoughtful.

xx

Her touch was feverish, fingers tangling through his soaked hair, dancing over his wet skin, wondering how he could feel so cold and yet so unbearably hot, as if their bodies themselves were inflicted by the burning need that infused into their hearts, just to _feel. _

He broke away at the sting of salt and the unmistakable, metallic flavor of blood, and he looked down at her, so her expression utterly lost, her eyes red-rimmed and miserable, the tender flesh of her lower lip swollen and bleeding from where she had bit it to keep from sobbing, a droplet of crimson vivid against her pale complexion.

He cupped a hand to the back of her head, fingers stroking her raven-black hair as he gently guided her lips back to his, kissing her softly, cradling her close to him as she shook and a broken sound escaped her throat.

"Talk to me, Rin."

Her voice was muffled against the skin of his neck, but he felt more than heard them, feeling the force of the emotion behind them reverberate through his very being.

"I can't feel you. Where are you? You're not there anymore."

He closed his eyes, blinked away the threat of tears that pricked at the edges of his watery vision, and that tremendous feeling of loss echoed through him once more. He took her hand in his, gently placing it first against his cheek, and she felt the cool flesh there, then against his chest, to feel the steady reverberation of his heartbeat, to the slender column of his neck, to feel the fluttering pulse of his life's blood pounding through his body.

"I'm right here, Rin. Can't you feel me? I can feel you. You feel so sweet…"

She nodded slowly, smiling softly through her tears as she rested her head against the shoulder, concentrating hard on the feel of him, the steady pulsating of his life he had pointed out to her.

It was all so surreal. Rumors had flown through the family for years, decades…generations, about the release from the curse. She herself had doggedly pursued said rumors in her quest to free him. Now, she had what she had gone over her, and the full force of this new, stark reality was frightening.

Was it possible to feel both euphoric and melancholic, both free and broken? There was so much left, so much left broken inside them both, so many scars remaining to be healed.

But with Haru's arms tight around her, the emptiness inside not seeming so frightening as before, she felt that perhaps, this was the first step toward that healing.


End file.
